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Marathon Awarded $1.55 Million Grant to Improve Wastewater Services

June 12, 2018

Press Release

‘I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the health and safety of South and West Texans’

MARATHON, TX – Rep. Hurd is pleased to announce the North American Development Bank (NADB) and the Marathon Water Supply and Sewer Services Corporation have signed a US$1.55 million grant agreement to finance improvements to the town’s current sewer system. Funding for this project is through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is administered by NADB.

Under the current wastewater collection system (WWCS), collection infrastructure is available to 85% of residents, with service provided to 241 residential connections. Portions of the existing WWCS were constructed nearly 50 years ago and are prone to line breaks due to deterioration of the pipes. In some cases, raw sewage has flowed into homes and businesses, exposing the public to serious health risks.

Approved by the NADB Board of Directors in November 2017, the wastewater infrastructure project in Marathon, Texas consists of replacing the main trunk line that conveys wastewater to the wastewater treatment plant, as well as decommissioning of a lift station and extending wastewater collection infrastructure. The project will eliminate exposure to untreated or inadequately treated wastewater due to sewage back-ups and spills. The project is estimated to cost US$1.55 million and will eliminate approximately 2,000 gallons per day of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater discharges.

“The good folks in Marathon rely on a wastewater collection system that is old and unreliable, causing serious public health risks across their West Texas community. Preventing exposure to bacterial and viral pathogens transmitted through sewage is absolutely vital,” said U.S. Representative Will Hurd. “This is why I fought to restore funding for the Border Water Infrastructure Program allowing these critical improvements to move forward, and I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the health and safety of South and West Texans.”

“We are pleased to support Marathon’s much-needed wastewater infrastructure that will improve the health and well-being of its residents,” said Alex Hinojosa, NADB Managing Director. “The continued support of Congress is vital to funding the Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP), so I want to personally thank Congressman Hurd for his on-going efforts for this needed program and overall backing of NADB.”

The project consists of replacing approximately 8,800 linear feet of the collector main from the First Street alleyway to the Marathon Wastewater Treatment Plant, reconnecting 46 existing services to the new trunk line, connecting nine (9) residences to the wastewater collection system, and decommissioning nine (9) septic systems and the lift station. Construction is expected to start in Fall 2018.